CORCORAN SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY
I. Philosophy
Courses for Undergraduates
First-year students, entering the college from high or preparatory schools,
are not admitted to the courses in Philosophy or Psychology.
Philosophy B1: Logic: First term: Deductive Logic. Second term. Inductive
Logic. Special attention is directed to the analysis of logical arguments
and to the detection of fallacies in reasoning. Third term: A critical exposition
of theories of knowledge. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Professor Lefevre, Assistant Professor Dent and Mr. Leckie.
Philosophy B2: Ethics: The course deals with the general development
and the different types of theories of morality, and is intended to aid the student
in reaching a constructive result. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Professor Lefevre.
Philosophy B3: History of Morals: A descriptive and genetic study of
moral ideas and practices in the history of society and in different civilizations,
with a view to showing the reality of moral progress and with special reference
to the problems of modern civilization. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Professor Balz.
Philosophy B4: Philosophy of Government: The study of the leading
philosophical conceptions of government in Western civilization. (B.A. or B.S.
credit, 3 session-hours.)
Assistant Professor Dent.
Philosophy B6: Social Philosophy: A study of human nature as expressed
in social life and organization. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Assistant Professor Dent.
For Undergraduates and Graduates
Philosophy C1: History of Philosophy: Prerequisite, any two B courses
listed in this school.—The lectures trace the development of philosophical thought
from the early Greeks to the middle of the nineteenth century. The endeavor
is made to present the various philosophical systems in their relation to the
civilization of the age in which they belong, and to estimate their social and
political significance.
Professor Balz.
For Graduate Students
(Philosophy C1, the History of Philosophy, is prerequisite for all other C
courses in Philosophy.)
Philosophy C2: Empiricism and Rationalism: A study of Locke, Berkeley,
Hume, Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza, and Leibnitz.
Professor Balz and Assistant Professor Dent.
Philosophy C3: Recent Philosophical Tendencies: Idealism, with especial
reference to Bradley and Royce; Vitalism, Naturalism, and Realism, with especial
reference to Bergson, Santayana, Whitehead, and Alexander.
Professor Balz and Assistant Professor Dent.
Philosophy C4: Recent Ethical Theories:
Assistant Professor Dent.
(One or more of the following courses will be offered each session, according
to the needs of graduate students and in the discretion of the professors
concerned. This work will be under the joint direction of the professors of
philosophy. Admission to the classes on approval. Hours by appointment.)
Philosophy D1: Plato and Aristotle:
Philosophy D2: Kant and the post-Kantian Development: With especial
reference to Fichte, Schelling and Hegel.
Philosophy D3: Metaphysical Analysis:
Philosophy D4: Seminar in Contemporary Philosophical Discussion:
Note: Every student who desires to become a candidate for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy in the Corcoran School of Philosophy must pass a
satisfactory examination on the History of Philosophy. This is a prescribed
condition of qualification for candidacy. The examination may be oral, written,
or both, in the discretion of the professors concerned.
II. Psychology
Psychology B1: General Psychology: A survey of the principles of
psychology, either as part of a liberal education or as preparation for professional
study. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Professor Ferguson, Associate Professor Geldard and Mr. Wood.
Psychology B2: Educational Psychology: Psychology B1 prerequisite.—
Mental ability and its development. Quantitative aspects of the subject will be
stressed, and the classroom work will be supplemented by practice in mental
measurement and experiments in learning. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Professor Ferguson.
Psychology B3: Abnormal Psychology: Psychology B1 prerequisite.—A
study of mental and nervous disorders, including a consideration of psychoanalytic
as well as more conventional interpretations, and of the social aspects
of abnormal behavior. The classroom work will be supplemented by clinical
demonstrations. (B.A. or B.S. credit, 3 session-hours.)
Associate Professor Geldard.
Psychology C1: Principles of Psychology: Psychology B1 and any other
B course listed in this school prerequisite.—An examination of the more important
systematic positions in psychology, with special reference to the structural,
functional, behavioristic and Gestalt points of view.
Associate Professor Geldard.
Psychology C2: Mental Measurement: Psychology B1 and any other B
course listed in this school prerequisite.—A study of the more important mental
tests and intelligence scales, of the statistical methods involved in their use, and
of the results obtained.
Professor Ferguson.
Psychology C3: Comparative Psychology: Psychology B1 and any other
B course listed in this school prerequisite.—A study of animal behavior in its
relation to fundamental problems of human psychology. Instinct, emotion, habit,
sensation and the more complex processes will be considered.
Associate Professor Geldard.
Psychology D1: Admission on approval of the professor in charge.—Minor
research problems.
Professor Ferguson and Associate Professor Geldard.
